


No.18 I Can't See

by LiGi



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [18]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Awesome Leon (Merlin), Blindness, FebuWhump2021, Gen, Hurt Leon (Merlin), I can't see, Magical Injury, Pre-Canon, Protective Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Young Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Young Leon (Merlin), evil sorcerer, i love the brotherly relationship between Leon and Arthur, no 18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:13:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29565234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiGi/pseuds/LiGi
Summary: Febuwhump 2021 day 18 - "I Can't See!"While out riding young Leon and Arthur are attacked by a sorcerer.
Relationships: Leon & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137632
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	No.18 I Can't See

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for betaing, Onehelluvapilot! Everyone go and read her febuwhump fics as well!
> 
> Pre-canon, Arthur is about 12/13ish and Leon 18.

Leon’s sword was flung far away from his hand as the sorcerer shouted a spell. Arthur was knocked backwards and Leon staggered to get to the young prince’s side.

This was all his fault. He had offered to take Arthur out for a ride to use up some of the boundless energy the prince still had even after he’d finished morning training with the other squires. They’d ridden for a long way, racing each other and jumping fallen trees, until suddenly the horses had reared and panicked as a hooded figure appeared from within a heavy mist. The sorcerer had wasted no time in pulling the two boys magically down from their saddles, laughing in the face of their blades as the horses bolted away.

Now the sorcerer was preparing another spell, his hands twisting in front of him. Arthur was crumpled at the foot of a tree, his eyes closed, clearly unconscious. Hoping against hope he wasn’t seriously injured, Leon snatched the short sword from Arthur’s slack grip, hefting the thin golden hilt in his hand to get used to the weight – so much less than his own bastard sword.

He turned back to the sorcerer, ducking a hail of rocks that were magically thrown at him.

“You will not harm the prince!” he yelled.

The sorcerer laughed. “Stand aside, boy. I do not want to kill you. I need you alive to carry the whelp’s body back to his father,” he mocked.

“If you want to kill him, you go through me,” Leon ground out, his jaw set. He lifted the blade in front of him, letting his knees drop into a ready stance. He flipped his cloak back over his shoulder out of the way of his sword arm.

“You’re nothing; I could crush you like an insect.”

“I am a knight of Camelot!” Leon roared, and charged.

He’d only been knighted a few weeks ago, but the king himself had said he was impressed with Leon, said he had shown more promise than other men older than him. It was why he’d been given the duty of protecting the prince.

The sorcerer was clearly caught off guard by Leon’s action; he stumbled back a step and only just managed to pull up a shield of magic to block Leon’s swing.

He furiously spat another spell, his hand clawing towards Leon’s face and the young knight screamed as pain erupted over his eyes, a slashing scraping feeling pulling from his brows down to his cheeks like giant talons had raked across his eyelids.

He ducked his head, his hand coming up to cover his eyes, feeling wetness under his fingers. The sorcerer brushed past him, heading towards Arthur. Leon turned, desperate to stop him getting to the prince, even though his eyes were screwed up against the pain and he couldn’t see where the man was.

He took a deep breath, centring himself and listening. He heard the swish of a cloak, the crunch of dry leaves beneath a foot. The gasped grunt as Arthur was lifted and shaken back to consciousness.

“No!” the prince shouted. “Get off me! I am Prince Arthur of Camelot and I demand that you let me go!”

Blindly, Leon reached forwards with his left hand, finding a shoulder clothed in thick hooded cloak. He gripped the shoulder tightly, pulling the man away from Arthur and plunging his sword forward.

It buried deep into the man and from the little noise Arthur made, Leon guessed he could see the tip of the blade protruding through the man’s chest. He pulled it out and let the sorcerer fall dead to the ground.

Leon staggered backwards, away from the body, dropping the blade and falling to his knees, his hands lifting to his face. He tried to open his eyes.

The world was white. A kaleidoscope of colours danced at the very edges of his vision but vanished when he turned his head to find them. Slowly the colours and the whiteness faded, faded until he was left with nothing but blackness. He blinked furiously, but nothing changed.

“Leon!” The prince shouted, his teenage voice cracking halfway through the word. A hand grabbed Leon’s arm, too tight, fingers digging into the muscle through his chainmail. “What’s wrong?”

“My face… my eyes…” Leon’s fingers danced in front of his face. He didn’t want to touch his eyes in case he damaged them further, but they hurt incredibly and what felt like blood was pouring down his cheeks.

“There’s nothing wrong with them,” Arthur said. His other hand bumped under Leon’s chin, brushing through the sparse beard Leon had started to grow.

“But… he cut my eyes.” Leon was trying not to panic. Panicking would not help get the young prince back to the safety of Camelot. But being blind would not help him either. “The blood…” He wiped at it with shaky fingers.

“No,” Arthur said unsurely. “Just tears. They don’t look hurt…”

“I can’t see!” Leon cried.

Arthur made a noise at the back of his throat, a worried groan, and his grasp tightened even more on Leon’s arm.

“I’m sure…” He gulped. “I’m sure Gaius can do something…” Leon felt the prince’s breath across his face; the boy was leaning close to peer at his eyes. But all Leon could see was darkness. “Let’s get to Gaius.”

Leon’s arm was tugged upwards. Biting his lip, he stood, wavering slightly and grabbing for Arthur. His fingers wrapped around the boy’s bicep, feeling it tense as Arthur flinched and flexed his arm.

“Sorry. My lord.” He knew Arthur didn’t like to be held onto.

“Don’t call me that,” the boy said with gritted teeth. “You’re my brother, Leon.”

Leon couldn’t help the grin that tugged at his lips. This was why he enjoyed being the prince’s personal knight bodyguard. Not that Arthur liked the term bodyguard, but the king had insisted – the prince must always be accompanied by a knight until he was knighted himself.

“Here.” Leon felt the hilt of a sword pressed into his hand, but it was not the comforting leather grip of his own bastard sword, rather the slim golden handle of Arthur’s short sword. “You take this, and I’ll use yours.”

“Arthur, come on, that’s too big for you,” Leon protested, trying to reach a hand out to take his sword back.

“Shut up, Leon,” Arthur said with princely finality. “I need to protect you, so I need a decent sword.”

So much for Leon being Arthur’s bodyguard then. Leon caught the sound of his sword swishing as Arthur gave it a few practice swings, grunting at the unfamiliar weight, then the prince patted the hand Leon had wrapped around his arm and started leading him forwards.

**Author's Note:**

> I love any and all comments!!


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